The travelers continue along the road, moving steadily northward while encountering no further aggressors. Over the course of several days of travel, they discuss their plans. They are interested in finding Matreous’ sister, to share the sad news of his demise, while perhaps finding some clue as to why he might have been killed. Quae had informed Lis that Matreous’ sister lived in the Seatower neighborhood of Baldur’s Gate. Lis, a one time resident of the city, knows Seatower to be an area in the western part of the city. He himself had grown up in the temple of Kelemvor in the “Temples” neighborhood in the Upper City. Lis explains that he was in fact, cast out from his order for his “heretical” views, and members of his order would like to do him harm.
As they proceed northward on the Coast Way, the wilderness slowly gives way to occasional farmsteads and cultivated fields, interspersed with stands of trees. Not far from the Outer City, they encounter a ragged looking man in a long coat, in the company of three children. He hails the strangers and introduces himself as Scorg. He explains that he is taking his children out of the city on a camping holiday. Noticing Scale, he reminds them that Baldur’s Gate forbids animals larger than a peacock within the Upper City. He recommends that they avoid the untrustworthy stables outside the gate, because there is no telling what might befall the animal. Instead, he offers a couple of solutions in the form of potions that he has for sale. One of them will reduce the size of the beast so that it can be legally brought through the city gates. The other would turn the animal invisible so they might surreptitiously bring it through. The prices for both of these potions are too high for their liking, so they decline to make the purchase. Waldo opts to dismiss Scale for the duration of the trip to the city, sending him home with the intent that they will reunite once this journey is complete. Waldo trims a bit off wool from Scale and puts it in his pocket. He gives Scorg and his children enough rations for six meals, and then bestows the gift of a throwing stone on each of the children. Realizing that they also have a giant rat to deal with, they release it to make its own way in the wilderness.
They move on and as the road begins to descend to the river valley, they can see the city in the distance, along with the “Outer City” settlements clustered along the road and the river. The first such settlement they come to is the town of Rivington. This is a fairly squalid town. Many of the buildings appear dilapidated, and the people in the streets looks a bit rough around the edges. However, they don’t seem to attract any undue attention. Wrenn, having spent some time in the area decides to seek out an acquaintance, a man named Louie who runs an establishment called “The Crooked Bar.” The building which houses this inn is, in fact, crooked. Its 3rd floor is shifted off-center from the floors below it. As a result the west-facing rooms on the 3rd floor overhang the sidewalk below.
Louie welcomes the six travelers into his place and speaks warmly to his old friend, Wrenn. Apparently they haven’t seen each other for many years. Wrenn leaves a note to their mutual acquaintance, Silk. Louie informs Wrenn that Silk has not been welcome in the Crooked Bar for some time, but his “old lady” comes in from time to time. He says he will pass the note along to her.
Lis, still in the guise of Bella Wend, goes over to speak to a couple of thuggish looking blokes who are playing cards at a table. The go by the names of Ro and Dennis. They are members of the local street gang, the Rivington Rats. The gangsters find her mannerisms peculiar, so they are on their guard, particularly when they inquire whether she is related to Archduke Wend of the Kingdom of Tethyr. “She” concocts a story that implies a close relationship to the archduke, and his farming background. They scoff at the notion that such a well-to-do, powerful individual came from farming, and they dismiss the credibility of her story. However, as she inquires about the location of any book shops, they tell her about “Mimi’s Adult Books” just around the corner, where they stock some marvelous illustrated books that she or her companions might find interesting.
As evening deepens, they ask Louie for sleeping quarters. He sends them to two vacant rooms, one on the third floor and one on the second. DU.EE, Lis, and Grixori take the room on the second floor, while the others go up to the third. They examine the third floor room and find a loose floorboard where small items could be concealed, and also a loose wall panel. Moving the panel aside reveals a space between the walls of the adjoining rooms. There is a small peephole in the wallboard of the adjacent room. Peeking through, they see a an unoccupied room similar to their own. A grey, hooded cloak lies strewn over the bed, and a wide-brimmed hat hangs on a hook near the door.
During the night, their rest is disturbed by loud footsteps and angry voices in the corridor. It is clear that a small group of aggressive individuals is making their way up to the third floor. These individuals bang their way into the unoccupied third floor room. Grabnar bars the door, and Waldo assembles a molotov cocktail while Wrenn peers the through the peephole. He observes four hairy humanoids clad in leather and spikes, tossing the contents of the room. They have doglike snouts, pointed ears, and tails, and more menacingly, each is armed with a scimitar. They slice open the mattress, yank the drawers from the dresser, and generally make a mess of the place. Shortly, the largest of the four gestures toward the room next door, and barks a command in a language that Wrenn cannot understand. The intruders abruptly head for the door, and it become obvious that they mean to continue their search in the next room.
Grabnar braces the door, and shortly he feels an sharp impact. He holds firm, only to receive a second and a third even stronger impact against the door. This has given Wrenn time to take a tactical position behind a bureau, and for the downstairs team to head out into the corridor to investigate. Eventually the door is forced open and the four bestial humanoids burst into the room. They demand to know where Rio is. Of course, none of the three adventurers have any idea who Rio is. The aggressive intruders won’t take no for an answer and the confrontation erupts into violence. Two of the assailants run for backup, only to encounter “Bella Wend” on the landing. She tries to sweet talk them, but her charms fall flat. Frustrated, she lashes out, scorching one of them with arcane fire. The attackers turn the tables and bring Lis to the ground with a sleep charm. They try to hack at his prone body, but his companions are there to defend him. They kill one of the two and drive off the other, who flees down the stairs and out toward the street.
Upstairs, Waldo tries to attract attention by dropping his molotov cocktail out the window. It smashes on cobbled sidewalk with a gout of liquid flame. Two curious gnomes come out the front door of a hostel across the street, they see the fire, and then scurry away to retrieve water. Meanwhile the invaders attempt to shove Grabnar out of the window. He is too strong for them and he holds his ground. In fact he turns their tactic against them and sends the leader out the window. He lands in the flames with a shriek and a heavy thud. Burnt and wounded, he staggers to his feet and is promptly doused by a bucket of water flung by a gnome. He limps away, but is felled by an arrow in the back, and falls dead in the street.
When the hostilities end, one of the intruders has escaped, one lies dead in the street, and two lie dead in the Crooked Bar. Wrenn rousts Louie to explain what happened. Louie, no stranger to lethal fights in this rough town, helps to dispose of the bodies. He warns that if one of them escaped, he is sure to bring back allies. These are members a gang of jackalweres who he believes to be responsible for all kinds of trouble in the area. The Rivington Rats are their sworn enemies. Louie views the Rats as protectors of the town. Yes, they are dangerous thugs, but they are Rivington’s own, and they help keep other criminal forces at bay. He suggests that making friends with the Rivington Rats might be a good idea, especially if they have run afoul of the jackalweres. For now, they decide that they should lie low and recover from injuries sustained in the fight. Louie leads them down to the cellar, where there make themselves as comfortable as possible among sacks of potatoes, beans, and flour. Louie promises not to give them up when jackalwere enforcers inevitably come seeking vengeance.